


Deceit

by retrinazambrano



Series: OQ Angst Fest [3]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Outlaw Queen Angst Fest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-11
Updated: 2018-08-11
Packaged: 2020-04-06 15:03:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19065052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/retrinazambrano/pseuds/retrinazambrano
Summary: You knew, and you didn't tell me.Or,Regina doesn't have the best taste in men and Robin can't shake that feeling either.





	Deceit

**Author's Note:**

> For OQ Angst Fest.
> 
> Prompts:  
> 2\. Leave me alone  
> 27\. I have every right to be angry  
> 29\. I didn't mean it like that and you know it

Every weekday, Robin witnesses Regina and her boyfriend greet one another in the reception with a kiss, a grin and a goodbye. Each time he's conflicted; she looks so happy and settled with Hyde, yet there is something about this guy that doesn't sit well with him, something that leaves a funny taste in his mouth and all the warning signs go off in his head.

Hyde's an IT contractor, so he comes and goes as he's needed and Robin had witnessed their flourishing friendship, much to his personal chagrin, and when he discovered they were dating some weeks later, he stayed out of her way. Of course, Regina being Regina, she confronted him after several days of the silent treatment, for she couldn't quite figure out what she'd done to upset him.

And he can't lie to her. He just says that he has an awkward feeling about her new man. She tilts her head, then smiles at him, squeezing his bicep gently, saying, "It's okay, Robin. You're still my number one friend." Which doesn't make much sense, and he hates right now that he is single and they are just friends, but he leaves it and promises to try harder.

Regina invites he and Will for drinks later that week, alongside Hyde, and Robin still can't shake that feeling that something isn't quite right. It's not like he's lecherous, seedy or… even weird, he's… just right. Perfect, maybe. He's respectful towards Regina, showering her with compliments and accommodating to the presence of her work husband and his best friend to what was clearly meant to be an evening for two. Too perfect always raises his red flags, and Robin blames years of failed relationships for his cynical attitude. He can't even voice these concerns to Will, for he's laughing away with Hyde about some techy subject. They're clearly getting along and he'll just tell Robin he's being paranoid… or seeing what he wants to see to justify his feelings for Regina.

\------

Months and months go on like this. Whispers of an engagement are on the horizon and the sheer thought makes Robin's blood run cold. Hyde works with computers, he thinks to himself, and he's not really employed by the company, so he could go talk to his contacts in the agency, see if there's anything untoward to dig up, just to assuage the feeling in his gut - or at least disprove it - but no, he won't do that because if he does find anything, he wouldn't be able to face Regina, knowing what he knows. He'd feel guilty too, that he didn't trust her judgement.

\------

The engagement does go ahead and Regina does say yes. The ring is beautiful and he doesn't think he's ever seen her so happy. He thinks it might be time to admit defeat; that their timing was terrible and they should just thank God that they're in each other's lives.

He takes a long walk the day she comes back from her engagement vacation, his mind on that expensive piece of jewellery adorning her finger, and he just wants to clear his mind. They'd been joking around in the office when Will carelessly shot a comment about how Robin wished he was the one that got down on one knee and Regina tilted her head in question, gaze darting to Robin. Will quickly backtracked, clarifying that he didn't mean to her, but for his ex. Robin shot daggers at the poor guy and laughed it off awkwardly, just as Regina did the same.

He spots Hyde waiting by the park entrance as he strolls and makes steps to approach him, when a petite brunette taps him on the shoulder and they embrace. For a split second, Robin thinks it's Regina, and he has no desire to see that, but then he focuses a little more. The woman is a little taller, her hair a little shorter, and as she goes in to kiss him…

Dear God, that's not Regina at all.

He backs away and tries to process the scene he's just witnessed; his best friend - the woman he's secretly (though probably not-so-secretly) in love with - her fiancé is in fact dating another woman. And she has no idea.

He had congratulated her earlier that morning. He feels sick to his stomach that this is happening, but also slightly justified; he always thought this arsehole was bad news.

By the time he returns to the office, it's not far off the end of the day - an hour or so - and with little work to be done, he decides to welcome the weekend in early and stare at the bottom of a tumbler of whisky for the evening. No such luck, when Regina approaches him with a smile on her face and a request for his presence at the bar. He wants to decline so, so much, but she's so pleased, it's infectious, and so against his better judgement, he accepts.

Their walk to the bar is mainly Regina talking about a big order that one of her clients placed, to which he nods and hums in all the right places, and he really is listening, truly, but his mind is racing at the same time. He loves listening to her, her voice and the way her tone lifts when she's excited, and normally he'd revel in it in secret, but this is one secret too many.

She goes on to say that she discovered Hyde was meeting some friends at a bar a short walk away and that they're going to surprise him. Right now.

He doesn't ask how she found out, but shit, no, they can't do that. She can't burst in and see him all over some other woman. That's not fair; it'll be embarrassing and heartbreaking for her, and that's the last thing he wants. So Robin tries to explain that it's a guys' night and that she should just leave him to it, they can go somewhere else, but she just jokes that she knows he wants her alone (he wishes she would stop saying things like that… or would carry on), so she ignores all his protests and heads on in.

Regina scans the bar area, Robin close behind, appreciating the calm before the storm. She spots Hyde and smiles, starting to make her way over when she stops, suddenly, causing Robin to walk into her, his hands coming to her hips to steady himself, unable to do anything as the storm explodes.

The storm had well and truly arrived. The thunder rumbling through her head, the cacophony of the bar becoming a low, deep hum as she watched her fiancé greet another woman in a way that was definitely not friendly. Lightning cracks as she races over to him, grabs him by the collar and begins to shout at him. Robin can barely make out the words, and can only see Hyde's shocked, then apologetic, pleading face, his mistress sitting opposite him wide-eyed in shock. She'd had no idea either.

Next he knows, Hyde is pointing at him, face contorted in anger and Robin instinctively steps towards Regina, who is seething (rightly so), unafraid of causing a scene, the entire bar quiet save for her voice. Robin notices her tightly fisted hands and realises that this might be a good time to get her out of there, before she throws a punch and lands herself in trouble, though he's pretty sure no-one would blame her at this point.

When he sees Robin approaching, Hyde shouts something about how they're probably fucking (no, Regina's a loyal woman for one…), to which Robin calmly denies as he places a hand on Regina's shoulder. His laid back approach irks Hyde even more, stating that he's touching his fiancee a little too intimately, something frankly ridiculous.

Regina agrees, telling Hyde in no uncertain terms that he's no longer her fiance. She rips the ring off her finger, throwing it in his face, before turning to Robin and uttering get me out of here, but not before she empties the contents of Hyde's pint glass right over his head.

He guides her out, despite the calls and shouts from his friend's ex. Robin manoeuvres her to his car and she silently gets in, telling him to drive to his, to hers, whatever. Just get her out of this goddamn place.

He floors it, hoping the speed will distract her somewhat, but she's lost in her thoughts, her hands still balled up. Robin glances at her, her bottom lip jutting out in anguish, then her hands, so he reaches out and covers her hands with his, a move she clearly appreciates, as she loosens her fingers and fits them over his.

Robin lets them in, apologising for all the unpacked boxes. She doesn't say a word, doesn't even acknowledge a thing he says, instead sitting on his sofa, staring down at the floor. It's then that he realises she's crying, silent tears falling from her cheeks, splashing onto her hands. His heart breaks for her, and as he sits down, his arm comes around her shoulders and she fits herself onto his chest, as she had done many times before. Robin strokes her back, drawing soothing circles which bring her down until her breaths are mere hitches.

She speaks then, to him or herself, not he's not sure.

"How could he do that to me? How does he live with himself, knowing he's having sex with her yet I'm waiting at home… oh God, I hope he's been careful…" Robin hadn't considered that and doesn't want to hear much more. "My God, Robin! How could I be so stupid?"

He explains that it's not her, it never was her, and there's something about his voice that has her picking up her head and staring at him.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" she asks, and he confesses that he saw Hyde earlier, with that woman and had tried to get her away and spare her the showdown.

She replies that he shouldn't have done that, that he should have let her find out like that, rather than carrying on like nothing was happening. Above all, he should have told her the moment he returned to the office. It's true, but they were at work, it was hardly the right time, but he understands, so he apologises with a, "yes, Regina, I should have and I am sorry."

Her face goes blank as she raises her hand to stare at it. Bare, save for the pale band around her finger where her ring used to sit. She feels lighter and she knows she'll move on from this particular round of heartbreak eventually. She looks up at Robin, his kind eyes and gentle hands, and thanks him for being her friend. It stings, but a friend is better than nothing.

"I'm surprised you didn't punch him," Robin says after a lengthy silence. "I think you would have got quite a few cheers if you did."

"I wanted to," Regina replies, a faint smirk on her face.

Robin scoffs. "I did too."


End file.
